Partition structure-movable



March J. w. ADAMS. JR, ET AL 1,793,392

PARTITION STRUGTURE-MOVABLE Filed Nov. 16, 1928 E 3 K i 1 I I a i 2/ j zz Patented Mar. 31, 1931 iJNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN W. ADAMS, JR., AND HENRY ARTHUR STEVENS, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA; SAID STEVENS ASSIGNOR TO SAID ADAMS PARTITION STRUCTURE-MOVABLE "Application filed November 16, 1928. Serial No. 319,801.

This invention relates to wall or partition structures for buildings, and especially to removable and convertible wall structure especially designed for partitioning off offices and 5 the like.

In large office buildings, ofices are constantly being re-arranged or enlarged and there is a real demand for sectional or unit partition and door structure which may be readily set up or re-arranged and which when correctly installed will afford all the advantages of a tile or permanent partition.

It is an object of our invention to provide very simple but highly efficient sectional partition structure, which may be easily and quickly installed without injury to the permanent walls, floors and ceilings of buildingsand which may be firmly anchored in place forming a rigid structure.

It is a further object to provide sectional wall structure of the type above described which may be arranged to suit a variety of different requirements and which may be quickly set up by an unskilled laborer.

A further object is to provide sectional partition structure including the removable door frame structure, which, of course, is a requisite and constitutes a portion of any complete partition structure for forming rooms.

More specifically it is an object of my invention to provide sectional partition structure which may be quickly interconnected and clamped between the ceilings and floors of a building.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of several sections of our partition structure, including a door frame, some parts being broken away to show the more important structural features;

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of one of the sectional units showing its means of anchorage with the ceiling of a room;

Fig. 4 is a similar fragmentary view of the lower portion of said sectional unit showing one of the clamping jacks interposed between the base of the unit and the floor;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; r

. Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 1, illustrating some of the mechanism for clamping the door frame against the floor; and

Fig. 7 is a cross section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1. In Fig. 1 of the drawings, a vertical partition is shown, set up between the floor and ceiling of a building and provided with a central doorway D and a transom frame T disposed thereabove. At each side of doorway D one or more of our sectional wall units W are set up and one or more of said wall units may be provided with an upper transparent panel G. As shown, the several wall units W are of the same dimensions but it' will, of course, be understood that these units may be made of different widths or different proportions according to the particular wall requirements.

Each of our wall units W comprises a rectangular frame which may be formed of wooden or metal members and as shown is constructed of boards comprising two vertical posts 8 connected at their ends by means of the horizontal stringer members 9. If desired, the space within a frame may be divided by a third horizontal stringer member 10 and the upper portion of that unit may be provided with a sash in which is mounted a glass or other transparent panel. The rec tangular frames formed by the members 8 and 9 are covered at both sides by some suitable relatively thin material, such as wall board of any suitable type. The wall board is cut in rectangular sheets of just the size of the frames and may be secured to the frames by nails or any other means. One longitudinal side of each of said wall units is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed T irons, Set as best shown in Fig. 5, extending the entire height of the unit and secured thereto with one flange of each T iron projecting outwardly from said longitudinal edge of said unit to overlap the appropriate longitudinal edges of another similar unit. lit will be seen that the head portion of each T member forms a "facing strip when a pair of units are joined,

' improving the appearance of the structure and concealing the joint between the units. Each unit is equipped at its upper end with suitable means for engaging an elongated ceiling rail 11, which bears against the ceiling. As shown, the upper stringers 9 of units N are each provided with spaced dowels or studs 12, although other suitable means may be em.- ployed for engaging the ceiling bearing rail 11 to prevent lateral displacement therefrom. The lower ends of each unit 1V is preferably provided with vertical sockets or bores 18, which may if desired extend entirely through the lower members 9 of the unit frames. Units XV are clamped or wedged between the ceiling and the floor by means of simple jack mechanisms each comprising a pedestal 1-1 of comparatively wide area carrying an upright threaded post 14a with which clamping nut 15 is engaged as well as a lock nut 15a disposed below said clamping nut. A clamping plate 16 is loosely disposed on post 14: above clamping nut 15 and is adapted to engage the lower stringer member 9 of a unit while the upper extremity of post 14 is disposed within one of the sockets 13 to retain the lower ends of the units against lateral displacement. Suitable floor rails 17 may beutilized in setting up a partition and may be loosely disposed upon the floor in alinement with the ceiling bearing rail 11. The pedestals of the sections rest upon the floor rails 1? and are properly positioned so that the upper extremities thereof will be alined with the sockets 13 in the lower members of the unit frames.

In addition to the sectional wall units the partition structure includes a removable door frame adapted to co-operate with the sectional wall structure. A pair of spaced upright column members U are clamped or wedged between the ceiling and the iioor. Each of the column members U may comprise a pair of spaced posts 18 secured in spaced relation by means of upper and lower end members 19. The lower end members may have vertical sockets therethrough ads. ed to receive the hreaded posts of the jacks J, while the upper end members are rn'ovided with any suitable means for enga the ceiling rail 11 to prevent lateral displacement therefrom. shown, said means comprises dowels 19a engaging suitable sockets formed in said ceiling rail. The column members may be locked in with the adjacent wall sections d by means of the "'5" members So on the adjacentlongitudinal edges of said wall sections.

A door buck is connect-edto the two spaced uprights U and may comprise a pair of side posts 20 somewhat shorter than the distance thrust against the floor. As illustrated, this toggle structure comprises a pair of crossed arms 24, said arms being pivoted at their crossed portions to a depending supporting member or post 25, which may be abutted against ceiling rail 11 and is'disposed midway between side posts 20 of the door buck and above the transom frame. One end'of one of the arms 24: is pivotally connected to :the upper end of the left hand side post 20 of the door buck, while its other end-is pivotally connected to the upper end of the righthand upright member U. The other cross arm 21 has its right end pivotally connected to the upper end ofthe right hand post-20 and its left end is pivotally connected to the left upright U. It willthus be seen that when the clamping nuts 15 are tightened on the jacks J of the uprights U the slight upward movement of said upright members will, through the toggle connection with the side posts 20 of the door buck, cause the lower ends of said side posts to be thrust against the floor, thereby rigidly securing the lower end of the door buck against displacement. After the above action'has taken'place horizontal fastening devices, such as nails or screws 26 may be utilized to connect the up right members of the door buck with the adj acent posts of the column-members U.

To completeour removable partition-structure, base boards F maybe nailed or otherwise secured to the lower stringers 9 of the wall units W and'to the floor rail 17 ,thereby concealing the several clamping jacks utilized as well forming a compartment in which electrical or telephone conduits and water pipes may be housed and concealed. lilolding strips M may be afiixed to thelongitudinal edges of the ceiling rail coveringthe joint between said rail and the upper edges of the wall sections \V. The door structure may then be finished off with the usual facings, transom, door step 27 and the door.

It will be seen that with our structure a rigid partition having windows and doors, if desired, may be quickly set up between a floor and a ceiling of abuilding without damage to the walls, ceiling or floor. our structure, the floor and ceiling rails are first temporarily held in position and in vertical alinement and the units are then setup, the dowels 12 or other retaining means at their upper ends engaging sockets or the In setting up 7 equivalent in the ceiling rail, while the several clamping jacks are loosely disposed upon the floor rails and posts engaging the appropriate sockets in the lower stringer members 9 of the wall units. Upon tightening the clamping nuts 15 of the several jacks, the several wall units are rigidly clamped between the ceiling and the floor with the abutting edges of adjacent units interlocked by means of the engagement of the T irons 8a. The door frame structure may then be quickly set up as previously described and it will be noticed that the T irons 8a of adjacent wall units may overlap the posts 18 of the column members U. Where a doorway is included in the partition the arrangement of the units is preferably reversed at the opposite sides of the doorway in order that the two wall units adjacent the doorway may have their T irons overlapping the adjacent posts of the corresponding column member U.

Theengagementoftheupperendsofthejack posts 14a with the sockets at the lower sides of the wall units and the engagement of the dowels 12 or other retaining means with the ceiling rail retain the sections against lateral displacement, while the partition is being set up as well as thereafter and greatly expedite the formation of the partition.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that we have invented a simple but highly efficient removable wall structure capable of being quickly set up or taken down to meet requirements. Obviously, a variety of differently shaped partitions and walls may be set up from a plurality of the disclosed wall units, jacks, column members and door frame structures.

WVhile the door frame structure is shown connected by means of the toggle to the column members U, it will also be understood that if desired said door frame structure may be connected by means of the toggle mecha-' nism to the opposing edges of a pair of the spaced units W. In this connection, it will readily be seen that the column members U constitute sectional wall units clamped between the ceiling and the floor although, of course, they are shown of less width than the units W.

It will be apparent that the ceiling rails 11 and floor rails 17 may be eliminated if desired, in which case the upper edges of the wall units W will abut directly against the ceiling, while the jack members J will be supported directly upon the floor.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of applicants invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Partition structure comprising a plurality of rectangular sectional wall units adapted to be abutted edgewise in vertical position, means adapted to be interposed between the lower edges of said wall units and the floor of a room for clamping said units rigidly between said floor and the ceiling of said room, two successive units of said number being spaced some distance apart, a door frame structure between said last mentioned pair of units, said door frame structure including a pair of spaced vertical posts of less height than the height of said room, and a toggle mechanism connecting the upper ends of said posts with the upper portions of said spaced pair of units, whereby when the clamping means for said spaced pair of units are tightened said posts will be thrust against the fioor.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein a relatively fixed pivot is provided for the center of said toggle.

3. Partition structure comprising a plurality of sectional wall units adapted to be mounted edgewise in vertical position, means interposed between the lower edges of said wall units and the floor of a room for clamping said units rigidly between said floor and the ceiling of said room, two successive units of said number being spaced some distance apart, a door frame structure between said last mentioned pair of units, said door frame structure including a pair of spaced vertical posts of less height than the height of said room, a pair of crossed bars at the upper end of said door frame structure intermediately pivoted at a fixed point, each of said bars having one of its ends connected with one of said door posts, and its other end connected to the upper portion of one of said spaced units whereby when the clamping means for said spaced pair of units are tightened said posts will be thrust against the floor.

1. Partition structure comprising a plurality of sectional wall units adapted to be abutted edgewise along vertical lines, cooperating means at the vertical edges of said units for holding the abutted edges in vertical alignment, the lower edges of said units having elongated vertical recesses therein, a plurality of independent self-supporting jack elements adapted to be interposed between the lower edges of said units and the floor of a room to clamp said units between the floor and ceiling of the room, said jack elements each comprising a supporting base of rela tively wide area and an upright post rigidly secured to said base, the upper end of said post being adapted to he slipped within one of said recesses in the lower edge of a unit and a clamping member having threaded en agement with said post for vertical adjustment and of larger area than said recess and adapted to apply pressure against the lower edge of said unit.

5. Partition structure having in combination, a plurality of sectional wall units adapted to be abutted edgewise along vertical lines and each comprising a rectangular frame covered with. sheet material, the lower members of said frame extending horizontally and having ekmgated vertical recesses therein, c-

operating interlocking means (In the Vertical edges of .4 1 frames for holding the abntred edges of said units in vertical alignment and a: plurality of independent self-supporting jack elements each eemprising a rehiiiveiy m wide base and :1 short upright post rigidly secured in said i use, the diameter of said pose heing less than the diameier of the recesses in the lower frame members for loose insertion therein and IL damping nut threa lediy 15 engaging the upper end of each of said pests and of larger area than said recesses for zippiying' pressure against the lower edge of said frame member.

In testimony whereof We affix our signa- 5 tnres.

JOHN XV. ADAMS, JR. HENRY ARTHUR STEVENS. 

